My “Contour” Road Book of England (Northern Division) arrived yesterday and was delivered by James in the evening. It describes the road from Warrington to Northwich that I was travelling today in the reverse direction as ‘Class II. The road has good surface but is slightly rough approaching Northwich’. Points of interest are: Manchester Ship Canal, Budworth, Budworth Mere and Northwich Salt Works’. Today was dry and warm but overcast and even a little misty to begin with. I left Lostock Gralam on the A559 Hall Lane. It passes Wincham Hall which is now a hotel and wedding venue. A little further on the road crosses the Wincham Brook.

At the Great Budworth Crossroads there is a small hut and I wondered what it was.

Looking inside, it is a well and used to be the only water supply for the village. My water bottle was still full at that point.

Further on, in Marston is the Lion Salt Works, down a side road, which is now a museum. The road continues to wind around through Antrobus and Lower Stretton. By the time I got to the A49/M56 interchange, I had done just over seven miles. In total I passed five pubs, one derelict and none of the others open for coffee. At least there was a bench just before the roundabout for a rest. I had left Vale Royal and was entering Warrington. Like many of our larger towns and cities the outer main roads are lined with 1930s houses. Car ownership had increased, and people moved further out. This is the case in Appleton. The road started to descend towards the Bridgewater Canal. It is part of the Cheshire Ring which is a 98 mile walk.

The A49 London Road here is on the route of a Roman Road but the current bridge dates from 1936. The sun was trying to get through, it was warming up, a canal side pub, The London Bridge was open, and a cold beer was needed. The bar staff were asking what I was doing and thought I was a bit daft but wished me luck and re-filled my water bottle.London road continues through Stockton Heath where the buildings are Victorian and crosses the Manchester Ship Canal with only one mile to go to the centre. I had my lunch near here and a mile further on, I crossed the River Mersey to Centre Park where my accommodation was.

I sat by the river for a while. Network Rail were repairing the rail bridge upstream. I heard lots of birds and bees were feeding on the clover but there was no wildlife on the water, just a plastic bottle floating downstream.

Total mileage today was 11.4 and after yesterday on the Cheshire Plain with altitudes less than the 86m above sea level we are at home, the highest point today was 106m.